April's Fool
by superyuui
Summary: Something strange has pulled Fay to a small planet named Earth, where an age old Institution has found the feather and is using it for their own questionable purposes. The small group must infiltrate Torchwood... and what is a TARDIS?
1. Foreigner

**April's Fool**

**Chapter One – Foreigner**

Fay looked around curiously from his perch on the captain's chair, a warm mug of tea cupped in his hands, a green glow casting alien shadows across his face.

He watched the tall, dark-haired man as he seemed to dance around the central column of the room, flicking switches and pulling levers and… hammering things.

Fay figured that Mokona had somehow managed to drop him right into wherever he was, and for some reason he wasn't really meant to be there. However, as if luck had decided to screw him over further, he also seemed to be outside of Mokona's translation range, as the enigmatic man had not understood him in the slightest.

Not that he had understood the man either.

The extent of their communication existed with crude doodles, an odd version of charades and a common love of nice, sweet tea.

Fay shuddered as another pulse racked through him. For some reason, since coming to this world, Fay had felt ill and every now and again, waves of strange energy would shoot through him. It was like sensing magic, only this magic wasn't omnipresent and at a constant like all other magic he'd come across in his long, unforgiving life.

This magic didn't feel like magic at all; but Fay thought of it as magic, mostly because he was at a lack for any better word. It was more like random earthquakes, and for the split seconds they occurred, Fay's insides felt like they were rearranging themselves and on two occasions he had nearly thrown up because of the ferocity and the adrenaline the shock brought with it.

The odd man seemed to notice his discomfort and as such, he had offered the only thing he could: a nice, hot cup of strong tea, with just enough milk to settle his stomach and just enough caffeine and sugar to keep him alert and awake and his nausea at bay. Fay took a sip and smiled, sighing happily. There really was nothing like it.

The pinstriped man glanced over at Fay and grinned, which was probably the wrong thing to do, as sparks suddenly flew out from the central column and he ended up flinching away from the console, cursing and sucking his finger. He picked up the hammer and gave a swift whack to the panel, and Fay noticed that the humming in the room rose in pitch for a second or so before returning back to how it was.

Fay watched intently, naturally curious about the level of technology this planet possessed. He didn't think that even Piffle was this advanced, even if the stranger _was_ using a rubber mallet and a blue light on a stick to work on it.

The man tapped the hammer against the panel a few times, flicked a switch and turned to Fay.

"My name's the Doctor," the man said, though it was all gibberish to Fay, "what's your name?"

Fay tilted his head to the side and smiled apologetically. The Doctor sighed and ran a hand through his hair in irritation, before gesturing melodramatically at himself, "the Doctor", before then gesturing at Fay, hoping the obvious body language would make the blonde understand him.

No luck, as he just blinked and shrugged. The Doctor clicked his tongue and pointed to the tea, "Tea", then down on the console, "TARDIS", then back at himself, "Doctor"

"Tea… TARDIS… Doctor?" he repeated unsurely, and the Doctor grinned widely, before gesturing at the blonde again. Blue eyes widened in understanding and his face broke out in a wide smile and he nodded enthusiastically.

"Fay!" Fay exclaimed, pointing to himself.

The Doctor whooped and Fay looked very pleased with himself, but their celebrations were interrupted when the console started to ring. Fay, forgetting his 'speech impediment' and acting completely on the instinct that every human being has, got to the phone before the Doctor could.

("Hello?")

"Ans... lyh E cbayg du dra Doctor?"

Fay blinked and laughed sheepishly, handing the phone over.

While some foreign conversation took place, Fay decided to take a look around. Surely it'd be ok if he didn't wander too far. He wasn't too sure he could trust the Doctor, but he was fairly certain there was a possibility of him running into someone less charitable, and seeing as he couldn't speak the language (three words didn't count), he wouldn't be able to get himself out of any problematic situations.

He grinned wryly, thinking that just giving a charming smile instead of conversation would only get him from one sticky spot to another, so to speak.

After a quick look around the room, spotting two sets of doors opposite one another, he decided to take the one that looked like it lead to the outside.

His feet tapped along the metal gratings of the floor and he ran his fingertips along the edge of the console as he walked by, suddenly no longer feeling apprehension towards this new world or to the person who had been so kind as to look after him, even after Fay had literally fallen into his house, or whatever this was. Fay grinned and hugged the Doctor as he walked past, getting a confused look and then a grin in return.

Maybe when they found Mokona, Fay would be able to thank him properly.

-

The Doctor was caught off-guard with the sudden warm hug, but when he saw the man's cheerful expression he couldn't help but smile back. He watched as Fay nearly skipped across the room and jumped down the stairs, pausing by his long brown overcoat and picking it off of the railing, throwing it on and giving a small twirl, laughing the whole time.

Even though the blonde was probably mocking his coat, the Doctor was glad to see that he had finally relaxed, and even though he himself was a little uncertain of Fay, he could tell the blonde meant no harm. Or that if he did, he was damn good at hiding it.

Alarm bells set off in his head as he saw Fay reach for the door handle, but luckily something else distracted the blonde before he could push the door open and he skipped off around the room again, still wearing the Doctor's coat.

Shaking his head, the Doctor set in co-ordinates.

Cardiff, 1st of April 2008.

The phone call had been from Jack, which was odd as the only time Jack had ever called the TARDIS was when he was drunk and wanted to go on a date. Even though the Doctor politely refused and not-so-politely told Jack to push off, the man persisted in asking the Doctor for 'a quick shag in the infirmary'. Needless to say, the Doctor was not too beaten up about hanging up on him.

Fay stopped his frolicking and turned to look at the central column with a look of awe on his face as it started pulsing and shuddering from flight, but that was soon stopped as the room gave a lurch and Fay was thrown into a railing. Ignoring the pain in his stomach, Fay clung to the metal as they swayed side to side, staring at the Doctor, who was running around the column, completely unbothered by the turbulence as he flicked more switches and checked a monitor.

With a final shudder, the room stopped moving and Fay sagged down to the floor, his hands cramped but still clinging to the rail, desperately trying to get his breath back. The Doctor smiled at him and said something that sounded unintelligible, but apologetic, so Fay nodded in mock-understanding and pried his fingers away from the bar, flexing them with a hiss and a grimace.

The Doctor wished he could prepare Fay for what was outside; considering most of his companions' first reactions to finding themselves on a different planet, in a different time, were usually bad.

He was surprised, however, when Fay strode out of the TARDIS as if he did a similar thing every day, paying no notice to the fact that he was now in Cardiff as opposed to wherever he had been before. The Doctor would have been sceptical, if the TARDIS hadn't assured him that Fay was human, however the ship also found something strange. It wasn't alien, not exactly, and it wasn't using Fay's body as a parasite, as the Doctor suspected such a thing would be.

The strange substance was as much a part of Fay as Fay was of it. It was wound deep into the blonde's DNA; it was like Fay was some sort of hybrid human.

This and the man's lack reaction to space/time travel made the Doctor even more intrigued, and even gladder that they were heading to Torchwood.

The Doctor locked the TARDIS, turning his back on Fay, only to turn back to see his past companion and the blonde seemingly deep in conversation, which was odd unless Jack happened to speak… whatever it was Fay spoke.

"Hi, Captain Jack Harkness," Jack introduced himself, voice smooth, "what's your name?"

The Doctor rolled his eyes in exasperation.

"Enough of that," he interrupted, accepting his coat back from Fay, "I thought even you would be able to realise that he doesn't speak English."

"Well, I hadn't really gotten too far into the conversation," Jack joked, "Don't I even get a hug? It's been what, two years and it's still work, work, and work with you."

"This isn't exactly a visit though, is it?"

"I'm Fay."

They both turned to the blonde, who was smiling charmingly.

Jack looked back at the Doctor, smirking. "I thought he didn't speak English."

"He didn't," the Doctor agreed, "I just happen to be a fantastic teacher."

-

Fay seemed to be handling his experience rather well, considering he'd been flown across the universe and taken into the most top-secret place in Wales, maybe in the entire United Kingdom, all in the space of three hours.

Like in the TARDIS, Fay was looking around curiously with a childish wonder. It was dark and dreary and reminded him of the hospitals they had a few worlds back, however this place had random bits of technology shoved into it; as if the people doing the place up had no time. They were only in the main room, but it was easy to tell that the hub was huge, if not for the passageways opening out randomly on the floor but for the way their voices echoed around them. Someone had obviously tried making the place more homely, but unfortunately the few sofas and carpets dotted around weren't enough to stop the shiver going up his spine and the goose bumps creeping up his arms.

Jack and the Doctor talked while Jack showed him various news clippings and scan results on the computer monitors, leaving Toshiko and Ianto to keep Fay occupied.

Suddenly, Myfanwy, the team's 'pet' Pterodactyl, swooped on the small group and they dropped to the floor, Tosh shouting out in surprise.

Fay's face lit up, despite the shock from the aerial predator.

("I know that word!") he exclaimed happily, ("Kuro-chan usually says it! Though he usually says 'off', too…") he trailed off.

["You speak Japanese?"] Toshiko asked.

"You understand him?" Jack and Ianto asked at the same time.

Tosh looked sheepish momentarily, "Well, not all of it, only two words. Well… one word and an honorific. He seemed to understand what I said though."

They all turned expectantly to Fay, who had yet to reply. He looked thoughtful, tapping his chin with a finger, before replying slowly. Tosh paused. He certainly seemed to be speaking Japanese, but some of his words were odd, and archaic, so it took her longer to really understand what he meant.

"What did he say?" Ianto asked, the other men silent but equally interested.

"Something along the lines of having to learn Japanese in an army," Tosh ignored the unbelieving looks from Jack and Ianto at this statement, though she agreed with them; the blonde looked much too skinny to have ever been involved in an army, "and his teacher, 'Kuro-rin'"

Fay smiled at the mention of his Big Puppy and nodded cheerfully, and they all felt a sense of achievement at managing to hold a conversation longer than "Tea, TARDIS, Doctor" with him.

Fay then said something else, which Toshiko relayed to the others.

"He's talking about someone," Fay held up three fingers, "okay, he's talking about three someones and a… rabbit? A Mokona?"

Fay nodded happily and then his face took on his pensive look and he tapped his temple, muttering to himself in his own language.

He gestured at the Doctor, "'English'," at himself, ("Celestrian,") at Toshiko, ["Japanese"]. They all looked puzzled, so he repeated it, still with no luck. He decided to try something else.

He pointed at the Doctor again, "Doctor," then at Toshiko, ["Sensei,"] and finally back at himself, ("Tuldun.")

"Language?" Ianto guessed, surprised when the others suddenly agreed with him. Toshiko repeated it in Japanese to Fay and he grinned and nodded when he recognised the word, laughing with relief. He thought they'd be there all day making strange gestures.

"So whatever this 'Mokona' is," the Doctor summarised, "It's serving as a translation device for him and his companions,"

Tosh nodded, "I suppose so."

Jack looked curiously back at the Doctor, who shrugged.

Fay waved to get their attention and held up his three fingers again, before quickly making his Mokona impression after, then he brought his hands to his eyes and circled them to look like he was using a pair of binoculars.

"And he's looking for them."

"_Jack."_

The three Torchwood members turned to the computer, leaving the Doctor and Fay alone, the blonde watching Myfanwy carefully through his 'binoculars'.

"Gwen? Everything ok?"

"_We traced and followed that signal, and let's just say it's not what we expected." _Owen filled in,_ "Two kids and a foreign guy with a temper and a long-sword."_

"_Drop your weapon!" _Gwen commended.

They didn't get to hear the reply, because as soon as the first word was said from the foreigner, Fay gasped and a massive grin broke out on his face.

"Kuro-wanko!"


	2. Glitch

**April's Fool**

**Chapter Two - Glitch**

"Jack," the Doctor started as Jack revved the engine of the Torchwood SUV, "I'm not here just for Fay."

"So you picked it up too?"

Taken aback, the Doctor looked levelly at Jack, "And it's not you or any of your _team_ that's causing it?"

"Nope, must be some kind of..." Jack searched for the word, "Anomaly."

"Pretty big anomaly, to make a rip that size..."

-

As soon as Fay could see the black of Kurogane's cape and the green of Syaoran's, he happily turned to the Doctor.

("Thank you for helping me get back, I really appreciate it!")

The Doctor looked puzzled and Jack said something to him, when Fay realised with confusion that his language was still unintelligible to them. He was certain that he was in Mokona's range, but for some reason Yuuko's translation spell wasn't working on him any longer.

Noticing he'd fallen behind, he ran forward and instead of slowing down when he drew level with everyone, he kept going and threw his arms around Kurogane, sending them both tumbling to the ground.

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR, CRAZY BASTARD?!"

Fay grinned, ("it was your magnetic personality, Kuro-chan!") he purred, mock-nuzzling him. Kurogane threw the lanky wizard off of him and drew Souhi.

"Stop talking crap at me, you wiry little shit! AND IT'S KUROGANE!"

Mokona bounced out from nowhere and landed happily on Fay's head.

("Ah! Kuro-puppy's mad!") Fay said, giggling, and even though it was in a different language, Mokona and Kurogane both knew what he meant,

"His face is all scary!" Mokona joined in with their practically scripted argument before Kurogane exploded from rage and they were off, running around the street, Fay and Mokona laughing insanely.

"GET BACK HERE; I'LL CUT YOU BOTH IN HALF!"

The teenagers both ignored the adults' actions and Syaoran turned to Jack and the Doctor.

"Thank you for finding Fay-san." he said, bowing.

"Erm, yeah. Shouldn't you be trying to stop them?" the Doctor pointed out confusedly, but Syaoran just chuckled. They started running back to the group and Jack was about to step in when Fay turned and threw Mokona at Kurogane, hitting the ninja square in the face.

Strangely, this seemed to stop the chase.

The Doctor and the members of Torchwood all thought the little group could surprise them no more, until the white rabbit's eyes opened and it gave a yelp of "MEKYO!"

Gwen would have questioned Mokona's outburst when suddenly Fay, who was now a little way behind them, bent over and immediately threw up.

All in all, they were an odd little group.

-

Fay made sure Mokona was securely perched somewhere on his person before re-entering the TARDIS. He had told it to not say anything about his plan while they were inside the TARDIS unless specifically instructed to.

He wasn't foolish enough to believe he had tricked the Doctor, or earned his trust. He knew when the chocolate brown eyes were studying him. He would describe it as being similar to how Kurogane's eyes observed, and he would have been insulted, just short of enraged, had he not known that the Doctor's interest was more scientific than the ninja's was.

For some reason, even though he had just emptied his stomach not ten minutes earlier, he felt absolutely fine. No nausea, no weakness, no nothing. Even the sickness that he had felt while he had been inside the TARDIS had dissipated before he had entered what he now knew was called Torchwood.

That was another mystery. He now understood everyone perfectly. Mokona had bounced around as if nothing was wrong, saying that perhaps Yuuko was having an off day.

But Fay knew better.

Yuuko-san was the most famous witch of them all. Her power exceeded the total of the Council of Celes's mages put together, and he doubted it was any different across the dimensions. Also, he knew she was a woman who enjoyed her liquor, and she had undoubtedly had a few hangovers in the time they had been travelling without anything affecting them. He was willing to bet that she would have to be on her deathbed to be even considered to be having an 'off day'.

"If you had lost anything, I'm sure the scan would have picked up on it." the Doctor re-iterated.

Fay made sure his smile was in place before turning to face the taller man, "I know, but it can't hurt to check, right?" he replied with the practised air of a complete idiot who couldn't find a needle in a needle stack.

"...Of course." the Doctor said warily, though he didn't move from the door which he was leaning against.

Fay almost cursed to himself. He couldn't do this if the Doctor was watching him so carefully. He regretted bringing the magical creature along with him for a moment, then remembered why it was with him in the first place.

"Mokona? Just out of curiosity… How are you feeling?"

Mokona paused for a moment, as if considering its words.

"Mokona feels like… like Mokona ate bad sushi that Mokona needs to bring back up."

The Doctor looked rather worried at the thought of having to get rabbit-vomit up off the gratings, but Fay just nodded in understanding.

"Mokona knows what Fay is feeling too," Mokona chirped, "Mokona knows that Fay doesn't trust Doctor-san… but Mokona also knows that Doctor-san is kind and that Fay should trust him!"

Fay nodded and continued his search with real enthusiasm. Mokona was a superb empath; it wouldn't tell Fay to trust the Doctor if he couldn't.

"That's a handy trick," the Doctor commented from across the room, "Do you let people pull you out of a hat by the ears, too?"

Fay had the sudden impression of Kurogane in a penguin suit doing just that to the poor rabbit, and giggled softly to himself.

"It's one of Mokona's 108 secret special abilities!"

"That leads me to assume the other 107 are still secret," the Doctor commented, looking amused and slightly intrigued. Mokona giggled and nodded its head before transferring itself to the Doctor's shoulder.

"Maybe Mokona will-"

"Got it."

They looked over to Fay, who was across the room from them but still in sight. He was stood with his hand above his head, his eyes focused and dark with concentration. Something in the air sparked, and out from nowhere appeared a feather.

Fay noted idly that his feather was nowhere near as elaborate as one of Sakura-chan's, and in a bid for his own self esteem he supposed it was because his was not a memory feather.

"Fay!" Mokona squeaked, "That's-!"

"The air's full of them," Fay stated calmly, "it makes sense now."

"It's a feather." The Doctor reminded him, and Fay smiled at him, the coldness in his eyes gone.

"You're a smart man, Doctor. You know this isn't _just_ a feather." he replied lightly, twiddling the golden-white feather between his index finger and thumb.

"Fine, so what is it?" the taller man asked, reaching to pick the plume out from the blonde's fingers, but it was pulled away at the last second.

"Do you believe in the energy of magic, Doctor?"

The Doctor raised an eyebrow, and tried to take the feather again.

"Magic energy? Oh-kay..." he grinned, obviously humouring Fay, "Just give it to me so I can scan it."

"If we leave the TARDIS, the feather will no longer have a physical form. The same will happen if it leaves my grasp. Magic is not a physical thing, Doctor, and to a man of science such as yourself, I can see why you are so unwilling to believe this kind of energy exists." Fay said. He winked and walked slowly around the console, all the while playing with the shimmering feather.

"So you're saying that magic exists."

"Of course," Fay assured, "After all, if magic is energy, then what is a wizard but a man who can convert this energy and use it as he so wishes?"

"Fay…" Mokona interrupted, its voice feeble, "That feather… I don't feel well, Fay!"

Fay held the Doctor's gaze for a while before releasing the feather, and it dissolved into the air with a shimmer of gold.

"How did that solve anything?" the Doctor asked. He wasn't usually_ this_ blunt, but they were inside his ship. Inside his TARDIS. And the enigmatic blonde had just told them that the air was filled with magic with the same tone of voice as if he had been talking about how tall the sunflowers are this year.

"Well," Fay began, sighing, plopping into the captain's chair, "For a start, magic is very stable, and very fixed. Magic is hereditary, however it doesn't mutate; it isn't like DNA. For countless generations, magics have remained the same as when they came into existence…" he looked up at the Doctor, "I'm right in assuming that this ship of yours has defence systems, yes?" the Doctor nodded, "Well, to have broken those would have taken tremendous power on my part, and it would have taken even more to protect myself also. More than I have, by the sounds of things."

He looked up. The Doctor was leaning against the console in front of him, the scepticism in his eyes being replaced by wary understanding. Fay licked his lips.

"Something wanted me in here."

"What makes you say that?"

"My magic fused with Mokona's. If it hadn't, I'd most certainly be dead. But, magic is unwilling to let itself die out, so it fused itself with Mokona's magic to get me through the defences. Unfortunately…" Fay paused, suddenly looking very ill in the green light, "it came with some side effects."

"That's why we couldn't understand Fay…" Mokona murmured, hiding itself in the Doctor's collar, quivering uncomfortably.

Fay nodded wearily. "Seeing as this is where it happened," he got up and headed for the door, "we should be fine when we leave the ship."

The blue door creaked as he stepped through, and it snapped shut behind him. He blinked confusedly, finding himself across the room he'd just been in.

He checked the door he'd just walked through.

It was a corridor.

He crossed the console room and, ignoring the very odd look from the Doctor, passed through the exit door again.

"What in the…?"

No matter how many times he passed through the door, he just ended up on the other side of the room. He slumped into the captain's chair and sighed in frustration.

"Another side effect?" the Doctor asked, unable to hide the hint of amusement in his voice.

"If you knew how close I was to projecting whatever I have left in my stomach onto this chair, I have a feeling you wouldn't mock me." Fay grumbled.

"The rabbit thing left fine." The Doctor gestured outside.

"My magic fused with its, not the other way around. More of my magic was in the equation; Mokona shouldn't get as affected as me."

The Doctor nodded, "Good to know."

"Sorry about this," Fay murmured, "It's probably not every day you get random people zapping into your home…"

The Doctor grinned, remembering a certain fiery redhead, "You'd be surprised."

Fay managed a smile.

"I think I should try and nap… You don't mind, do you?"

The Doctor was about to reply, but he noticed that the blonde was already fast asleep.

-

"So… what is it you're looking for?" Jack asked again, staring down at the two teenagers who kept exchanging odd glances.

"My feathers," Sakura replied timidly, "it's very important that I retrieve my feathers…"

"Feathers?" Gwen repeated sceptically. She traded a disbelieving look with Jack when the two brunettes nodded enthusiastically in response.

"We're looking for them because each one leads us closer to finding Sakura-hime's—"

"Parakeet." Kurogane cut in quickly.

Syaoran, though he had no idea where his mentor was going with this, went with it.

"Sakura-hime's parakeet."

"...My parakeet?"

Kurogane resisted the urge to slap his own forehead.

"Yes, Hime… your _parakeet."_ Syaoran said forcefully, staring at her, willing her to understand.

Realisation dawned on the princess and she 'ohhhh'ed. "Yes, parakeet! I was confused because I remember wanting an… um… a budgie!"

"We called the Parakeet 'Budgie' to compensate." Syaoran explained to the Torchwood members, who looked like they didn't believe a word of it.

"And this… Parakeet," Tosh started, "It travelled dimensions?"

Syaoran and Sakura paused, stumped.

"It was a special Parakeet?" The princess insisted, meekly.

"Very special." Syaoran agreed, "Which is why we must retrieve him!"

"Her."

"Her!"

Jack and Gwen glanced at each other again before Jack sighed in defeat.

"Let's find your feather then. Have you got a picture or something?"

Sakura nodded, "It looks like that." she said, pointing to a photograph that had been blu-tacked to the edge of Tosh's monitor.


	3. Mildred

**April's Fool**

**Chapter Three - Mildred**

"Oi, mage, they told me you were in…" Kurogane trailed off as he noticed what he had just stepped into, "…here…"

The Doctor's head popped up from under the gratings, his hair messier and a smudge of oil across his brow, "Hello big fella! Didn't think I'd see you in here anytime soon-" the Doctor continued nattering on, but experience with the mage had given Kurogane the ability to tune it out.

He backed out from the TARDIS and onto the street, staring at the blue box from every angle, and then slowly went back through the wooden doors, shock evident on his face.

He shook his expression off and stalked around to where he saw a blonde mop of hair. Fay looked like he had fallen asleep on the chair next to him but had rolled off, and was now face-down on the gratings.

Kurogane nudged him with his foot.

"Oi, mage."

Fay suppressed a groan and pushed himself up onto his elbows.

"Good morning, Kuro-tan~!"

"Don't give me that shit," Kurogane hissed, scowling, "The princess and the kid are set on finding that damn feather of hers, so get your lazy ass off the floor and we can get the hell on with it."

"Small problem, Kuro-pie," Fay murmured tiredly, the infuriating smile still on his face, "I can't leave this ship."

"And why the hell not?"

Fay shrugged as best he could.

"You lazy bastard," Kurogane growled, reaching to hoist Fay over his shoulder and force him to help. If the ninja had to, he'd be damned if the mage was getting out of it!

"DON'T TOUCH—"

Something sparked as soon as Kurogane's palms came into contact with the blonde's upper arms and he yelped, dropping Fay as if he was a hot potato.

"What the _FUCK _was that?!"

Fay groaned and pressed his forehead back to the floor, his nausea having increased tenfold.

"Mage! Give me a fucking answer!" Kurogane barked, trying to shake the tingling from his hands.

"My Magic's unstable." Came the muffled reply, "It keeps fluctuating and it shot right into you as soon as you touched me."

Kurogane felt the need to lie down overwhelming. No wonder the mage looked so crap; he felt like he could feel the earth moving around them. He stood Souhi on the floor and leant heavily against her.

"Why the hell would it do that?" he growled out, his voice only betraying a hint of unease.

"You're an empty vessel, as far as magic goes," Fay sighed, turning his head to the side so that he could be heard clearer, "It shot through you and then back into me, so what was left of my original magic is now trying to reunite with the volatile magic and it'll keep trying until the unstable stuff either reacts or diffuses."

"Meaning you'll implode if it's not sorted out?" the Doctor asked, now definitely worried about his ship's interior.

"Worst thing this could result in is more illness.." Fay mumbled, "My magic still recognises me; it's why it's giving me trouble to begin with. It won't explode me or anything, I'll just be ill for a little longer..."

The Doctor's eyes flicked between them worriedly, "BOTH of you?"

Fay made a disagreeing noise, "Kuro-sama should be fine. The exposure to my magic to him was like a virus, and because it bounced back to me means he's immune to it now," his unfocused eyes glanced up at the ninja, "You should feel tingly for a few hours, but it'll wear off…" Fay trailed off, slipping back into an exhausted sleep.

When his eyes next fluttered open, he was in a different room but assumed he was still inside the TARDIS, if not from the omnipresent _breathing_ from the ship, but for the organic decoration. He shifted a little and sensed someone resting next to him, who was no doubt his favourite ninja.

"Kuro-warm?" he ventured, his voice quiet.

A grunt in affirmation.

"Cuddle me, Kuro-pon…"

"Th'ell'd I do tha' for?" he slurred in response.

"M'cold…" Fay wriggled closer to the ninja, who tensed but otherwise didn't move, "All I want is for you to cuddle me, Kuro-sleepy…"

Begrudgingly, Kurogane slung his arm across the wizard's practically nonexistent waist and the blonde gave a light hum in appreciation.

"G'night, Kuro-cuddle."

"Mmm."

X o X o X

Fay sat up suddenly and clapped a hand over his mouth.

_Oh god please not over the bed-_

Thankfully, a bucket was shoved into his lap in the nick of time as he couldn't hold back any more and he coughed up bile and whatever was left in his stomach.

"I feel like I drank ten bottles of Reki wine and then got run over by a Minotaur…" Fay groaned between retches, not mentioning that whoever was rubbing his back was doing an excellent job of it.

"Just shut up and get it over with if you need to puke," Kurogane grumbled, now no doubt the person rubbing his back, "And what the hell's a Minotaur?"

Fay waited a while, concentrating on the soothing circles being massaged into his back.

"I think I'm done…" he said shakily, "I don't know what I'm gonna do with this bucket, but-"

"That guy said that this Tar-thing will sort itself out if you just leave the bucket somewhere."

"Right," Fay put the bucket under the bed, grabbed Kurogane's hand and pulled him out into the hallway, "Let's get outta here."

"I thought you couldn't leave." Kurogane growled, a vein in his head popping in annoyance. He tried to wriggle his hand out of the mage's grasp, but the wiry bastard was stronger than he looked.

"I couldn't, but if you remember earlier, I couldn't be translated either. I threw up for no reason, and then it was all fixed."

Somehow, Fay managed to navigate them back to the main control room, where the Doctor was replacing a light in the wall, having run out of other things to tinker with. Fay waved as they walked past, and though the Doctor obviously saw their linked hands, he still waved back as if everything was normal.

Upon hitting the pavement outside the TARDIS doors, Fay started doing a little victory dance, though was annoyingly still holding onto Kurogane's hand.

X o X o X

"I didn't think I'd see someone as attractive as you get thrown out from the Rift." Jack said to Fay the next morning. Fay was making some super-sugary tea for himself and wasn't too surprised at seeing the captain up so early.

"I bet you'd say that to anyone if you thought it increased your chances." Fay replied, his tone playful and teasing as always.

"You look like a guy who can appreciate a good drink," Jack complimented, "I should take you out later."

"So sure of yourself?" Fay asked, a flirty grin on his lips and his eyebrow raised in a way that nobody could describe as anything but seductive. Fay's grin increased at confident the look on Jack's face, "You think you're in, don't you?"

"No reason not to." Jack shrugged. Fay held his gaze, until a rustle of movement came from the corner and they both turned to see Sakura walking in, rubbing her eyes sleepily.

"Come help me make breakfast, Sakura-chan!"

"Y-yes, Fay-san…" she murmured through a yawn. Fay guided her to the kitchen with a hand at her back, catching Jack's eye and winking as they brushed past.

Fay felt the odd urge to skip, but pushed it down, not arriving at the kitchen quick enough.

"So, what should we make, Sakura-chan?" he rubbed his eye

"I think maybe eggs and—"

Fay suddenly burst into tears.

"Eggs… Fay-san, what's-"

"I don't know!" he wept, "I just can't stop c-crying!!"

Sakura hugged him a little awkwardly, each sob shaking her entire frame. As soon as it started, it was over, and Fay was dabbing his eyes dry and searching for the eggs.

"Uh… Are you alright Fay-san?" she asked warily, confused.

"Yes, I'm fine, Mildred," he stopped his bustling, "…_Mildred?" _he ran a hand through his hair, "My, this one's odd…"

"F-fay-san?"

"Sakura-chan…" Fay crouched to her level, "I know I'm behaving strangely now, and it makes sense that you're afraid," he ran a hand through his hair again, "My magic isn't working properly, so this will carry on until we retrieve your feather and separate my magic from Mokona's."

She didn't understand all of that completely, but she smiled and nodded,

"So, you have nothing to be worried about," he finished, smiling too, until he ended the sentence with 'Mildred' again.

She giggled good-naturedly, "Let's just hope we find my feather soon,"

X o X o X

"Oi… is he okay?" Kurogane rumbled as the Doctor awkwardly patted Fay's back as the blonde burbled and whined something unintelligible through the tears, tuning him out to listen to Sakura's explanation.

"All of these 'phases' are going to be embarrassing, aren't they…" Fay mumbled only a few seconds later, fully recovered, "Well, at least we have Torchwood and Mildre- the Doctor to help us~!"

Tosh stared before clearing her throat to remind them of the reason they'd gathered.

"I've had my eye on your feather for a few weeks, so knowing who has it isn't a problem," she paused for good measure, "However, stealing from Torchwood Two is going to be nearly impossible; it looks like even hacking the system will take me a while."

It was a lie, and the entire team, maybe even the Doctor, knew it. But that didn't matter; Jack had asked them all to not give the group reasons to leave so soon, so pushing their goal away from them was the best option at the moment.

Though currently, Tosh wasn't sure if Jack wanted to spend the time testing and scanning the newcomers or to spend it swapping bodily fluids with the blonde. Her thoughts were soon interrupted.

"SAY THAT AGAIN, BASTARD!" Kurogane yelled, chasing after Fay, who was grinning and laughing. They had confiscated Souhi and Hien, so at least nobody had to worry about things being broken.

Fay laughed louder, keeping just past Kurogane's reach, cartwheeling and blowing raspberries and generally trying to goad the ninja on further.

Finally, after a few sets of descending stairs, Kurogane caught Fay in a dead end and pushed him against the wall,

"Now, bastard," Kurogane smirked, "It's payback ti-"

Fay sniffed, his head lowered

"…What?"

"K-kuro-w-wan's s-so m-mean!" Fay sobbed, "A-all I w-was trying t-to do w-was m-make him s-smile!"

Kurogane was frozen and awkward, absolutely clueless as to what to do.

"Call me by my name…" he grumbled uselessly.

"D-daddy doesn't l-love meee!!" Fay wailed, burying his face in his hands and crying loudly.

"…Uh…" Kurogane let Fay go and stepped back a little, but the mage kept up his bawling.

Finally, Kurogane grew agitated and stormed away, leaving Fay in the dark, empty room.

Fay sniffed and rubbed his eyes. All of these unresolved sudden bouts of crying were leaving him feeling weak and vulnerable, two things he hated most of all. He was forced to lower his boundaries when the sickness made him cry, and because of the premature ending to the tears, he was always left feeling highly strung and unsatisfied. It was as if he had only been allowed a teaspoon of a delicious sundae, or only a sip of the finest wine.

He sighed, scrubbing his face in the heel of his palm, fixing his smile back into place before venturing back up, guided by the conversation that echoed through the whole hub.


	4. Trouble

**April's Fool**

**Chapter Four - Trouble**

"Until Tosh can locate your feather," Jack's loud American drawl ventured the air first, "You'll have to stay in the hub."

"I'm afraid all we have for you to sleep on are the cots in the cells," said the cute Welsh girl, 'Gwen', followed by the enthusiastic thanks of the kids and an unintelligible rumble from Kurogane. Fay joined them not a moment later as they followed Gwen down a different set of stairs.

"Most of our cells are full, we only have two going spare," Gwen continued, "Don't pay any attention to the other creatures down here; they can't harm you."

The lights flickered on and something roared, and even though it was muffled, Sakura shrieked and backed up, closer to Syaoran, who stepped forward, ready to guard her.

Kurogane also stepped closer to them, but Fay remained at the back, hands in pockets. If Gwen said they couldn't harm them, then they couldn't harm them.

The creature, the 'Weevil', continued to roar as the others passed it, Fay following. The blonde turned his head to look at the alien, and oddly, it fell silent suddenly.

He felt everyone's eyes on him, having looked back with the lack of noise, and so carried on moving again, rearranging his face so as not to betray his unease.

Gwen led them to the free cells, which weren't even adjacent, and punched the code in that would open the doors to each. Like the rest of the hub, they had the shell of a cave, but the walls were recent, and manmade.

"Sorry we couldn't offer anything better," she said, scratching behind an ear.

Syaoran insisted it was fine and thanked her, both of the kids bowing in unison. Gwen smiled, a little awkwardly, and excused herself.

Fay looked into the cell, trying to ignore the eerie silence from the caged creatures. There was only one cot in each cell, and it was obvious who would be sleeping in each. Kurogane would sleep sitting up, whether there were more cots or not, and Syaoran wouldn't even sleep.

After giving a shivering Sakura his coat, Fay lay down on the cot in his traditional sleeping position, nuzzling into the pillows that were obviously for function and not for comfort, exhaustion numbing his bones into sleep. As usual, he could feel the ninja watching him carefully, the sharp red eyes on his back more invading than the Doctor's soft brown ones were when they studied him.

Kurogane was still in his cape and faceplate, staring at Fay from across the cell. The blonde, as usual, was completely motionless and silent as he slept, but Kurogane liked to watch, believing that the second he looked away would be the second that Fay's ever-present guard would drop.

So, understandably, Kurogane was a little disbelieving when Fay's shoulders started to quiver after a few hours and soft, muffled snuffling noises started to come from him.

After a minute or two, when the _crying_ had still not finished, Kurogane moved forward silently. He reached forward and gently nudged Fay's shoulder, the blonde jerking awake so hard he went right into the wall the cot was attached to.

"K-kuro-sama??" he exclaimed, not hiding the stutter. His eyes were red and his cheeks damp.

"You were… having a bad dream." Kurogane grunted, rolling his eyes as if this were all a big annoyance to him, "I woke you so the kids didn't fuss."

"R-right… thank you…"

Fay lay back down, though it was obvious he didn't plan on sleeping any more; he was facing the wall.

Kurogane sighed and patted Fay's head in a way that he couldn't help thinking was intended to _comfort _him, before retreating to his corner.

Fay soon gave up on just lying there, rising from the cot, only sparing Kurogane a single glance before leaving. They had been told it was best to not walk around, as the creatures would probably react to them and wake the others, but Fay had no trouble leaving, the aliens still not roaring at him for some reason.

Kurogane didn't bother getting up too. He knew that the mage, though careless, was perfectly capable of taking care of himself.

Fay walked through the hub, dragging his feet and rubbing an eye with the heel of his palm, heading for the kitchenette.

Once again, as he was making some super-sweet tea, Captain Harkness appeared behind him.

"Good evening, or, uh… morning." Fay greeted politely, though the smile didn't reach his eyes, as usual. Jack started to say something back, but by then Fay was dashing to Tosh's empty workstation, kneeling next to the bin and retching into it.

A large, warm hand patted his back in aid and handed him a glass of fizzy water when he'd finished, promising it got rid of the taste. Fay rinsed and found it did, thanking Jack and apologising for the bin.

A little later, Fay sat on one of the old sofas, feet curled under himself, hot cup of tea cradled in his hands.

A coat appeared in his line of sight.

"A little early to be going out, isn't it?" he asked. Not that he was complaining, of course.

Jack grinned, "I _did _say I'd take you for a drink."

X o X o X

"_It's a bit loud!"_ Fay found himself shouting

"_What?"_ Jack yelled back, grinning.

"_What?!" _Fay had his hands over his ears to fend off the loud music, so hearing Jack was near impossible at this point.

Jack waved his hands, a signal for them to give up on the talking. He then waved to the barman for drinks that Fay had never heard of that came in glasses so small that Fay swore Jack wouldn't be able to pick them up.

It was when Jack picked one up easily and knocked his head back, taking the entire glass down in one that Fay realised they were shot glasses. Jack slapped the bar, asking for another, just as Fay necked his.

He grimaced against the taste- was it Magi and Lead or something? – and decided to choose something different, lucky-dip pointing at the bottles lined up along the back of the bar.

Someone tapped his shoulder and as soon as he turned, he found himself with a mouthful of someone else's alcohol-drenched tongue. His eye widened in surprise and indignation and he pushed the drunken girl away, managing to hear Jack burst into laughter next to him.

"You looked _scandalised!"_

It wasn't surprising; he _felt_ pretty damn scandalised. He swallowed his next shot.

While that girl had been _violating _him, he had noticed that… he had felt very compelled to do something totally out of character.

He downed another shot and looked over at Jack, who was deep in conversation with someone equally as orientated as he was.

Fay felt the urge to do something he didn't ever do again and oh god he couldn't push it away NO DON'T GO THERE—

Jack turned to Fay with an amused look on his face.

"You plan on taking this somewhere?" he asked

Fay quickly removed his hand from Jack's backside

"I uh um.. I-I… er—"

Jack's smirk only increased and he leant closer, intending on speaking, when Fay had _another_ completely out of character urge.

"You could have just--- mmpf!"

Fay pulled away briefly to mutter an apology before mashing their lips together again, kissing Jack hard like he couldn't ever remember kissing anyone before. When he finally reigned himself in, he felt guilt and regret settle in his gut and pulled away almost as fast.

"Uh…"

Jack stared at him, a little bemused. Shocked, would really be the better word.

"Um... side effects?" Fay shrugged as explanation,

"It'll do," Jack kissed Fay again, all lips and tongue and strength and… it was a lot like kissing Kurogane would be like, Fay guessed as his tongue pushed back, alcoholic tastes mixing between them.

Jack pulled away and was dragging Fay by the arm out of the bar, hissing "Not here," to him.

It was a few streets away before Jack pulled the blonde into an alley, pressed him against the wall and kissed him again, harder, feeling the way the smaller man yielded and moulded to him so easily.

Fay automatically wrapped his arms around Jack's neck and turned his head into the kiss, letting out a soft hum of appreciation. He felt his body stretch up the wall to meet the taller man, a large, warm hand on his hip and the other on his cheek, keeping him where Jack wanted him. He shuddered pleasurably as a cold breeze rattled him, more pronounced with the heat radiating off of the captain.

Jack pressed him further into the wall when he felt the shudder, his hand following Fay's thigh as the blonde's leg lifted a little to wrap around his own, Fay's narrow hips pressing forward a little more. Jack groaned. His initial sex-on-legs impression of Fay was proving accurate…

His hand dropped from Fay's face and went to his hip, the fingers playing with the blonde's shirt – the Doctor's shirt – before sliding his hand up a little more to touch cool, soft skin, pulse quickening with the resulting gasp and shiver. Jack broke from their feverish kiss to press his lips to the crook of Fay's pale neck, feeling the frenzied pulse with his lips. He smirked against that skin as he felt slender hands grip his ass and squeeze and rub. He pressed their lips together in another open-mouthed kiss, dominating the blonde entirely.

Fay's tongue rubbed insistently against his and heat pooled in the pit of his stomach, blood rushing to his—

_Beep. Beep._

He cursed in frustration.

_Beep. Beep._

Fay looked at him quizzically as he pulled away, finger on his ever-present earpiece.

"What?" he growled

"_Oh, _that's_ what this thing does!" _The Doctor's awed voice answered,

"..What are you doing?" Jack asked warily, distracted a little by Fay's mouth at his neck

"_I'm behaving myself," _he replied petulantly

….

"How did you get this frequency?"

"_I'm just fiddling around in your files a little," _he sounded smug,_ "Actually, I'm glad I contacted you, because…" _a few clicks and taps were heard, "_I don't really agree with the term 'arrogant', not when describing myself anyway- surely I'm more…supercilious? Imperious? Contemptuous? I deserve at least four sylla--"_

"Is this important?" Jack interrupted sharply - whatever Fay was doing to his neck demanded all his attention,

"_Alright, alright…" _he grumbled, as if the shiny new toy had been taken away from him, "_there's been an energy spike, similar to rift activity-" _there was the quick, muffled sound of glasses being opened and perched, "_-but not rift activity at all, more like… a doorway was opened and closed. It's like what we talked about, but if it was the rift, there would be _residual _energy still hanging around in clumps, but with this there was just that small-"_

"Nyaaa~" Fay miaowed.

-

There was a small pause, before the Doctor sighed,

"I should really be more surprised than I am…" he stated, "If you decide to think with something higher up your spine, the origin of the spike is a few streets away, four or five minutes' running distance, northeast. And keep your eyes open; something doesn't look right about this."

He should have been used to it by now, but to be honest, the Doctor was a little annoyed. Couldn't Jack keep his hands off of _anything? _Fay was ill, for goodness sake!

Having turned off the transmission, he grumbled wordlessly and retyped the files. He used another screen to monitor Jack's co-ordinates, which after a moment or so started down the street the Doctor had indicated, presumably with Fay at his heels. It was quite amusing to watch Jack's approach from this angle; the way he would walk with his back to walls and crouch before turning corners was evident in his velocity and slightly amused the Doctor.

When the dot labelled 'J Harkness' had stopped for more than a minute or two, the Doctor opened transmission again.

"Jack, you're a grown man, I shouldn't have to remind you that it might not be the best time to stop for a snog," he chastised, grinning the whole time. There was a grumble from the other end and the Doctor closed transmission, watching, smugly, as the dot began to move along again.

The Doctor frowned when the dot stopped again and re-opened transmission. Jack spoke first.

"_There's something there…"_

OK. So it wasn't another snog-stop, at least.

"Can you see it?" The Doctor asked, whispering too for some reason.

"_Nothing yet… but like you said.... this isn't rift energy, doc'."_

-

"MEKYO!"

Kurogane, seething, pulled Mokona from his face and glared at it.

"You better have a damn good--"

"Fay's in trouble!" Mokona wailed, holding his hears flat to his head.

Kurogane hesitated only a second before taking action, begrudgingly stuffing Mokona into his collar. The pork bun could find Fay, and therefore would save on time. Mokona had sounded pretty distressed, and if that was any indication, Kurogane didn't have much time to waste.


	5. Pleasantries

**April's Fool**

**Chapter Five - Pleasantries**

Jack felt Fay go rigid next to him, the blonde's body perfectly still. He would have turned to him had he not been following Fay's example; keep completely still and silent.

"_Jack, what's going on?"_

Jack put a finger on his earpiece and this time did look at Fay. He was somewhat taken aback; the posture and elevated heart rate indicated nothing but fear and yet his expression was completely the opposite. His jaw was set and his eyes were elsewhere, calculating. He returned, however, when he heard his name.

"Why, Fay-kun! It has been a while,"

Jack looked ahead in time to see the person emerge from the shadows. He was tall and Japanese, his dark hair hidden beneath a hood.

"Yes, it has" Fay agreed, his smile strained a little "Though how long it has been I couldn't tell you, Seishiro-san."

Jack watched them both visibly relax even as the tension remained thick in the air. They both held expressions that, taken at face value, would be reminiscent of old friends. However, Jack noticed the distance apart they stood, the way Fay was now holding himself and the danger that his eyes promised this stranger.

"Because time flows differently on different worlds," Seishiro concurred. "How is your ankle?"

"It is much better, thank you."

"Of cour--"

"Syaoran-kun isn't here." Fay interrupted. Seishiro's smile turned a little menacing, though he didn't make any other gesture to indicate he had even heard the blonde.

"And who is this?" he looked now at Jack.

Fay shifted a little in front of Jack.

"Just a local. I assume you'll be on your way?"

"And why would I leave so soon?" Seishiro grinned and his cloak moved to show a large, hollow glass ball. Almost instantly, Fay fell to his hands and knees and retched into the gutter at the same time as Jack pulled his gun.

Inside the glass ball was one of Sakura's feathers.

"FREEZE!" Jack commanded, "That is Torchwood property. Hand it over."

Seishiro just looked amused, "Such a noisy person," he mock-sighed, "If he is just a local, surely you don't mind if I-"

"_HIKOUGEKI!"_

Seishiro dodged the blast of blue lightning, not phased in the slightest. Jack ducked and rolled to the side so that he could keep Seishiro and the newcomer in sight. He spared a brief glance at where the sound and lightning had originated from, a little surprised at seeing Kurogane (though with a shout like that, who else could it be?) before all his attention was back on Seishiro.

"I should have expected that kind of welcome from you, Kurogane-kun~" Seishiro said, smiling.

Kurogane, however, was not smiling in the slightest.

"What are you doing here, you bastard?" he growled threateningly, Souhi at the ready. His focus kept shifting to Fay, who was still bent over the gutter and pretty much exactly in his line of fire, "_Leave._ I won't tell you twice."

"You don't need to," Seishiro replied as if they were exchanging pleasantries, "I have found what I was looking for."

With that, he lifted the glass orb in the air and… _vanished._

Jack blinked. This will be one hell of a report.

X o X o X

"Jack, this isn't fair." Gwen insisted in a hushed tone.

The constant vomiting had wreaked havoc with Fay's insides and he was currently in the infirmary being fussed over as he slipped in and out of consciousness, waking only to deliriousness and cold sweats.

Or maybe this was just his current condition, as a consequence of his unstable magic.

None of their alien instruments (including the Doctor's Sonic Screwdriver) understood magic and so they didn't know for sure. Either way, both Gwen and Tosh felt extremely guilty for putting the blonde through this because, as far as they knew, he didn't deserve it. The quickest way for him to stop vomiting and have a chance to recuperate was to return that feather to whom it belonged - which wouldn't happen until Jack gave the go ahead.

"That changes nothing, Gwen, and you know that. Especially when we don't know whose side they're-"

"What '_side_' is there, Jack?!" she argued, a little louder than intended.

Jack stepped closer in an intimidating fashion but she stood her ground.

"You are not to interfere. That's an order." he hissed, holding her glare before brushing past and disappearing.

Gwen glared daggers at thin air for a moment or two before taking a deep, calming breath and entering the infirmary. Walking to Fay's bed she saw his glazed, dilated eyes flick to her and he murmured a single syllable before passing out again.

"No change then?" she asked the stoic figure by the blonde's bedside. They obviously argued fiercely, so it came as a slight shock to everyone when Kurogane silently offered to watch over Fay.

Kurogane grunted a negative without even looking at her.

Gwen shifted from foot to foot for a second before pulling up a chair, sitting on the opposite side of Fay's bed.

"You should probably get some real sleep," she said to Kurogane, though it fell on deaf ears.

Gwen then sat in silence, absently studying Fay's features_. 'This strange group of people', _she thought, '_this strange group, each of them completely different yet they all have the same single goal in mind'. _

With that thought, she smiled. Wasn't it the same within Torchwood?

"A…shu………" Fay breathed softly, head turning to the side a little, eyes still closed.

"Dreaming…" Gwen said to herself upon realisation. She wasn't sure, but it looked like Kurogane had frowned a little, for just a second. "What did he say?"

"….Ashura." Kurogane said simply, eyes closing again. He hadn't moved once in the time she'd been sat there… it was a little unnerving.

"What is that? What is an… 'Ashura'?"

"It's not your business," he snapped, glaring at her openly, causing her to flinch.

"It was just a question," she stated, her tone almost equally defensive, "If you didn't want to answer then-"

He cut her off, "The person I answer to sure as hell aint you and what's his business aint yours, so you can ask all you want but it doesn't mean you're getting an answer."

"Fine then." she ground out, staying put out of stubbornness.

She must have dozed off after a while, for the next thing she remembered was waking. She was lying on the sofa in the main area of the hub, with rough black material covering her. Confused, she looked around and caught a glimpse of the infirmary, where Kurogane was sat with his back to her, in the seat she was previously in.

She smiled and shook her head, slightly bewildered, before pulling his cape off of her and folding it up neatly, draping it over an arm and approaching quietly.

"I'm leaving now," she said, mindful of her volume. Working underground, you got used to relying on your body clock as to when it was after dark, and Gwen knew it must be late, "If you need anything, Jack's always around."

Kurogane grunted in reply and then listened to her leaving, feather-light footfalls on the grates and then the distant echo of the door - if that's what you could call it.

He liked worlds like this. Worlds where there was nothing to remind him of Nihon, of home. Though there was Toshiko - she looked similar to the women of his country. She wasn't wide-eyed and fair skinned like the people of this one were, and she was small and had the same shade of dark hair that was so familiar to him.

He sighed through his teeth and opened his eyes, sight falling instantly on his blonde ally. Fay had always looked odd to him in those respects. They hadn't been to many worlds where the people looked more like Fay, and Kurogane was secretly glad for that.

One idiot mage was enough to handle.

"Kuro…"

He snapped to attention and felt a blush at his cheeks. Goddess… what must've he looked like, zoning out like that?!

"Kuro…sama…..mmmh……"

Fay was still sleeping.

Kurogane felt his blush recede and he scowled a little. Any more blushing and he'd be worse than the kid, and all because Fay said his name in his sle--

Wait…

What?

He studied Fay a little closer. Definitely sleeping, but he was different to earlier.

"Kuropyun…" the blonde murmured again

Huh.

"What?" he grumbled, folding his arms.

"Cold…." Fay sighed, his head turning to the side.

Kurogane rolled his eyes and grabbed his cloak from where Gwen had left it for him. He spread it over the magician, all the while mumbling about how stupid this was. Sleeping-Fay didn't thank him but just went silent, which to Kurogane was thanks enough.

He spotted what had been different about Fay earlier. The blonde never talked in his sleep anyway, but the increase in vocabulary used and the fact that he could ask for warmth showed Kurogane that he was becoming more conscious.

Kurogane refolded his arms and closed his eyes. Fay being mostly out of commission left him caring for three other people (and a pork bun) with nobody else to share the weight. On top of that, he needed to figure out what was causing trouble with the stupid wizard's magic, fix it and work out a way to steal back the princess's feather, all the while being watched, followed and scrutinised by six strange people. People he was definitely sure shouldn't be trusted as easily as they had.

Speaking of people not to trust…

"He's been out for a long time. You sure he's okay?"

"He's had worse," Kurogane grumbled. He wasn't sure if this was true, but he sure as hell wasn't going to admit that out loud to the Captain. And what was with these people?! In Nihon, people knew when to leave others alone.

"His vitals are okay," Jack said, looking at some strange machine that kept flashing similarly strange symbols, "So he should wake up soon."

'_Unless this is magic…' _Kurogane thought. He didn't voice his opinion; the way these people reacted to some of the things happening told him they were new to magic. He didn't want to scare their only help away. Something occurred to him.

"Why're _you_ so interested, anyway?"

Jack paused and grinned, "Just concerned."

There was a twinkle of something Kurogane didn't like in Jack's eyes and he bristled.

"Yeah? Well you and the rest of your _team_ could stand to mind your own goddamn business." he snapped.

"Maybe _you_ could stand to learn some manners, oh and while you're at it, _respect," _Jack retorted, "If I ever hear you talk to any of my team like you did earlier again, you and your friends will be out on the street in seconds and you'll have even less chance at getting your feather back. Do I make myself clear?"

Kurogane glared, before smirking. "Yeah."

-

"Kurogane-san..." Syaoran mumbled. He was stood in the doorway of the infirmary, where Fay was still unconscious and the stoic ninja was still watching over him.

"Aah?"

"I just... well, Sakura-hime thought you would like something to drink," he gestured at the tray he was holding, even though Kurogane's back was to him.

"Sure."

Syaoran put it on the side table next to his mentor, "There's a little extra in the pot, in case Fay-san wakes..." he trailed off. Kurogane didn't answer, but then again, Syaoran didn't expect him to.

"Sakura-hime and I are going to see if we can get the feather back on our own. Should we leave Mokona or...?"

"Don't do anything yet, kid. I know we need that feather back, but the way they talk about the place it is-"

"Like it's far away?"

Kurogane smirked, "Yeah. So just be patient. If they don't let us know then we leave, but we don't do anything until this dumbass wakes up."

"..Right..." Syaoran agreed reluctantly. There was logic to Kurogane's plan – there always was – but they had been in this odd world for days and had found nothing, and it frustrated him to no end.

"Um, excuse me.." came a rather timid voice. Syaoran turned and saw the small woman, Toshiko, behind him.

"What?" Kurogane said, before Syaoran could speak.

"I um...," she lowered her voice, "I can tell you where the-"

"_Toshiko!_" Jack shouted from somewhere unseen to them, while behind them, Fay gasped, and launched himself into a sitting position.

"_He's here" _he said, the voice not his own, "_The one we need"_


	6. Waking

**April's Fool**

**Chapter Six - Waking**

Fay was pale and his eyes were wide and glazed over, unseeing, and he spoke without stopping for breath, a different voice each time and none of them his.

"_The power, the POWER!"_

"Kurogane-san," Syaoran murmured "What's he...?"

"_We must have him"_

"I don't know... Stay away," Kurogane barked upon seeing Jack and the Doctor approaching.

"_We must have his POWER!"_

"_His are the eyes of the devil! Sinned, you have all-"_

Fay's words sped up, _"We must find him now! All-of-you-must-not-stop-until-you-find-the-one! THATPOWERIMUSTHAVEIT-" _until he was no longer intelligible and his words melded together and he carried on, every sound starting to dry in his throat as he didn't swallow and his skin purpling as he didn't breathe until he stopped for a second.

Just a second.

And then, he screamed a name so loud and filled with desperation with a ferocity that they all recoiled in horror and as the last sound died in Fay's mouth so did his consciousness, and he fell back onto the sheets.

None of them took their bewildered, shocked eyes off of the blonde, who was motionless for only a few seconds. Blue eyes soon shot open and darted around unseeing as he gasped for breath, a hand clutched to his chest.

He sat up quickly and clapped a hand to his mouth, barely able to keep the vomit at bay for even a second before coughing and spluttering into an offered bucket.

It had all happened so quickly that everyone there almost didn't believe it happened, but a glance at the others' faces proved that it had.

The Doctor was the first to speak.

"...Fay?"

"I told you I'm not Fay..." the blonde mumbled quietly.

The Doctor and Jack exchanged looks, confused.

"Your name's Fa-" Kurogane started

"Where am I?" Fay murmured

"...Kid, get out of here," Kurogane ordered over his shoulder at Syaoran, "Don't tell the princess or the Pork Bun. You too." he added as an afterthought at the woman.

"Y-yeah..." Syaoran answered. He left, a confused and shell-shocked Toshiko following behind him.

"You're in Cardiff..." the Doctor supplied, "Torchwood... You've been here a few days."

"Cardiff...." Fay tested the word on his tongue, "Is that... like the council?"

"Stop playing this game, you idiot! It's not funny!" Kurogane growled, causing Fay's face to crumple and his voice to falter

"I'm n-not playing... I swear... We weren't playing anything..."

"Who's 'we'?" Jack interjected

"Me and...we were just sat in our room I promise we weren't doing anything and we didn't see anyone honestly we didn't!"

"Stop it, both of you," the Doctor snapped, approaching Fay carefully, "He has some kind of amnesia. Shouting at him," he glared at the other two "Won't solve _anything_."

"D-did my uncle send you?" Fay asked the Doctor timidly, "is it today?"

"Is what today?" the Doctor questioned in return, using a soft voice, as if he were speaking to a child

"...T-the trial? Is it t-today?"

"Whose trial?"

Fay looked at him oddly, "...Mine...."

There was a short pause before Fay's face twisted in agony and he was clutching at his own head and screaming again, but this time they could understand him.

"IT'S IN MY HEAD! GET IT OUT!!"

"Doctor, what do we do?"

"IT'S KILLING ME!"

"_Out of the way",_ Kurogane growled, shoving the Doctor aside and punching Fay square in the face, knocking him out.

…

"Well, _that_ solved _everything_." the Doctor commented sarcastically, rubbing his shoulder where Kurogane pushed him.

Fay groaned and a hand came to his swelling cheek just as his eyes opened.

"Wha... What's going on? Ow...Kuro-poo, did you _hit_ me?"

Kurogane gave the Doctor a pointed look and smirked triumphantly.

"Um.. Toshiko-san?"

"Yes, Syaoran...-kun?" Tosh replied, a strange feeling in her heart at the honorifics she hadn't used in so long. They were both shaken over what had happened to Fay and were sat down, listening to the echoing sounds of Ianto making tea in the next alcove.

"You said... you knew how to get Sakura-hime's feather... please, we need to get it back."

Toshiko looked warily at the closed infirmary door and then at Ianto, who seemed to be obediently holding his silence.

She looked back at Syaoran.

"Come with me."

She took him to the archives and was careful to only show him the file that corresponded to Torchwood Two.

"It's in Glasgow, Scotland... do you know where that is?" she asked upon seeing his confused expression. He shook his head and she searched for a map of the United Kingdom.

"We're here," she pointed to a dot labelled 'Cardiff' in bold yellow and green. "And Glasgow is here." she pointed to another similar dot that was at the other end of the odd-shaped island.

"Glasgow..." Syaoran mumbled under his breath as if he were calculating

"This tells you how far two cities are apart from each other... so... Cardiff is six hundred and forty five kilometres from Glasgow, if you follow the motorways."

Tosh felt bad, but there was no way she could help him, not within her own place of employment. She sighed and flicked to the streetmaps section, circling something and dog-earing the page. She then closed the map and offered it to Syaoran.

"You'll most definitely need it." she smiled apologetically.

He thought for a moment and then bowed respectfully, taking the map from her "thank you very much for your help, Toshiko-san."

"_Jack! The Weevil's escaped! I need help down here!"_ Gwen buzzed over the radio.

As soon as Jack sprinted out of the room, Syaoran, Sakura, Toshiko and Mokona came in, ushering Fay quickly out of bed.

"It won't be long before he realises the Weevil's not gone anywhere," Tosh explained, "Hurry up, follow me!"

Tosh showed them the way out and they did as told, the Doctor following but Tosh staying behind to buy them more time.

"We have to get to a place called Glasgow," Syaoran explained as they ran, "It's where Sakura-hime's feather is, but it's so far away I have no idea how we'll get there,"

They rounded a corner and paused for breath, far away from the Hub entrances now.

"It can't be any further than we've had to travel before, right Mokona~?" Fay said between heavy breaths and they agreed.

"It's four hundred miles away." The Doctor supplied.

Their faces fell all at once and Kurogane cursed under his breath.

"We should start moving now, in that case..." Syaoran suggested, a tone of resignation obvious in his voice, "It'll take days..."

"Nah, I don't think so." the Doctor replied, confident and unbothered by the distance, "If Fay can manage his sickness, we'll be in Glasgow in two ticks."

A quick jog to the TARDIS was all they'd need to travel, it seemed. They were all a little sceptical – this machine didn't even have wheels, how would it get them across the country? - but they piled inside all the same and obeyed the Doctor's instructions.

"You, this button. Just keep pressing it, just – yeah, that's great. Big guy, this lever if you please, keep it upright, and maybe this pressure pad too? Just squeeze it hard... not that hard, yep that's it..."

He told them how the TARDIS was meant for six pilots, so the more of them there was, it would obviously run smoother. Fay was getting paler by the second, so the sooner they were in Scotland, the better.

Fay held back a groan as the machine started moving, closing his eyes so he didn't focus on the rattling noises and the unnatural lights and the moving central column. Before, the sickness hadn't really effected him in any real way, but now, after days of throwing up everything in his stomach he was weak. His legs were wobbling under his slight weight – which was much less now than a few days ago – and his arms quivered in exhaustion.

But he said nothing. Sakura was the only one not constantly giving him concerned glances and he didn't want to worry her too. The Doctor threw the TARDIS doors open and they followed him out onto the street.

"Here we are – Glasgow. Third most populated city in Britain, largest city in Scotland and also home to Torchwood Two." the Doctor informed, even though only one of his passengers was vaguely interested.

_Cha-chick._

They froze on the spot, each of them staring straight down the barrel of a gun.


End file.
